Mdb Posted October 13, 2014 I am a fairly new Taoist, I have found that I already believed basically everything I have read about Taoism up to this point and I am very excited that I have found it. Anyway, I want to experience the benefits of Meditation, but I am having trouble finding enough silence and stillness in my life. Don't get me wrong, I love my life, but with a 50-60 hour work week and a wife and 3 year old, it is not easy! Does anyone have any tips? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
woodcarver Posted October 13, 2014 A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
soaring crane Posted October 13, 2014 Well tbh that's a big task to accomplish given your current situation. But you could try something as simple as setting the alarm clock fifteen minutes early and spending that time in quiet contemplation. Imo the time would be best spent standing still. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
子泰 Posted October 13, 2014 maybe a moving practice will suit you better, try a moving qigong form or maybe an internal martial art such as bagua or tai chi Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
soaring crane Posted October 13, 2014 maybe a moving practice will suit you better, try a moving qigong form or maybe an internal martial art such as bagua or tai chi Good suggesitons, but those are very complex disciplines that require much commintment before they begin to truly unfold for the practitioner. A more suitable moving practice for someone like him, imo, would be Baduanjin (Eight Brocades) or a few of the movements from the Shibashi (18 Taiji-Qigong sequence). But to start with: Stand up. Dont move. Zhan Zhuang. Outside in a pleasant natural environment if possible, but anyplace will do, really. Even watching the TV is not only an acceptable but some who know what they're talking about would say the preferable alternative. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
idiot_stimpy Posted October 13, 2014 I agree, although your mind may me moving, keeping the body absolutely still is a good first practice. See how long you can go without moving your body. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jeff Posted October 13, 2014 I am a fairly new Taoist, I have found that I already believed basically everything I have read about Taoism up to this point and I am very excited that I have found it. Anyway, I want to experience the benefits of Meditation, but I am having trouble finding enough silence and stillness in my life. Don't get me wrong, I love my life, but with a 50-60 hour work week and a wife and 3 year old, it is not easy! Does anyone have any tips? With a busy schedule, try just listening to music while traveling to and from work... The key is "just listening". You will even notice that when you are just listening (and not "thinking"), the music actually seems to get louder. With greater focus, it can grow to full body listening... Best wishes. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
doc benway Posted October 13, 2014 I am a fairly new Taoist, I have found that I already believed basically everything I have read about Taoism up to this point and I am very excited that I have found it. Anyway, I want to experience the benefits of Meditation, but I am having trouble finding enough silence and stillness in my life. Don't get me wrong, I love my life, but with a 50-60 hour work week and a wife and 3 year old, it is not easy! Does anyone have any tips? Meditation is a wonderful tool with many benefits. With the right program, it is possible to see benefits from as little as 5-10 minutes a day of proper practice. In my experience, you can get more benefit from less invested time with "still" practices, either sitting or standing. Moving practices have enormous value but generally require a bit more time to enjoy the benefits. Early morning is often best while everyone else is asleep as well as lunch break at work. With a very busy schedule you must be VERY dedicated to create that extra time in your life for practice. If you see tangible benefits from the practice, it becomes much easier to honor that commitment. If interested in more detailed info, feel free to send me a PM. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mdb Posted October 13, 2014 Thanks for all the tips everyone :-) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Spotless Posted October 14, 2014 (edited) This is the perfect time to learn or expand your meditation practice! Take over the job of putting your child to bed - make up stories after the ones you read to him/her. The made-up stories don't end until you hear them sleeping - you can also just stop from time to time and if they don't say anything you know they have started to drift off. Have a comfortable chair in the room that is big enough to cross your legs in and also sit with your feet on the floor for sitting meditation. Since you need to kind of hang in for awhile as they get into solid sleep here is the process: You need lights to read from a book - but at some point you need to turn off the lights but then can come the struggle for them to actually go to sleep - so with lights out start telling them a story - I had Sammy the intergalactic pilot crab, Tiko the scientist super brain tiger and Bingo the wise island ape going all over the universe and in submarines etc..... When you think they have drifted off you can stop talking for awhile and if they let you know they are still aware then keep going. When they have started to really leave their bodies you still often want to hang around a bit to be sure they don't snap back and find you not there. This is the perfect time to sit - it is probably 7-8pm still to early to go to bed and your other half is probably using the time and does not miss you - at least not for 30-60 minutes. So you settle in for meditation - there in the darkness and if your child happens to wake - there you are. Their are three reasons this is perfect - 1. It is a natural segue 2. You will need less sleep and wake up much more easily 3. You will gain patience - a very good thing for someone in your shoes! Edited October 14, 2014 by Spotless 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Seeker of Wisdom Posted October 14, 2014 You can always find ways to scrounge time for focused practice, but also don't forget that cultivation can be included in whatever you're doing anyway - acting mindfully, mantras, cultivating compassion, etc, can be done in the background. Otherwise there's a lot of missed practice opportunities, and cultivation can feel a bit mechanistic if it's something you do for a set time, alone, in a set place, with no link to your life. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aetherous Posted October 14, 2014 I personally am also on a very busy schedule lately, where I basically don't have time to cook or clean anything sometimes for a week.But I sneak in like an hour and a half of practice (on good days...bad days it's more like 45 minutes), because I wake up earlier to get a morning session in, and also have a dedicated night time practice. Morning just after waking up is a good time to get things done that you would otherwise procrastinate. And night time, you can create a few spare moments, because the day is done. It can also help you relax and wind down from the busy day.That amount of time which I aim for isn't necessary. I would say that if you do "calm abiding meditation", just 15 minutes of it will create a lot of good effects in your day. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Seeker of Wisdom Posted October 14, 2014 Just remembered two tips from Alan Wallace: 1) 'Season the day' - do little bits of practice when you can. There's probably a lot of points in a day you can take a little chunk of time, like using the restroom you can get sit and meditate for a couple minutes. 2) Borrow the idea of the sabbath - maybe one day a week or fortnight or something, you have time to do a bit extra practice. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thelerner Posted October 15, 2014 When I didn't have much time I found using guided meditations when I first woke up or was going to bed gave me a taste what practice could be like. Especially some of the Taoish ones. Like Minke DeVos's at Silent Grounds the Tao Basics CD. I also liked Master Chen's CDs from Wudang and Gil Marin's stuff. By listening to them in bed it felt like it wasn't eating up productivity time. I think they helped me set up a good practice once my schedule eased up. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BaguaKicksAss Posted October 15, 2014 When I have a busy schedule, or at traveling, I sneak in 5 minutes worth of practice here and there . Sure it's not the same as a long session but it's still enjoyable and there are still benefits. Do this enough and you will find you actually get quite a bit in. Standing in zhan zhuang posture instead of just randomly when you have to wait for something, some meditation when you are sitting for a few minutes, 5 minutes of meditation right before you get up in the morning and/or go to bed in the evening, some relevant reading or zhan zhuang during your breaks at work... Well all that or just start teaching your kid Bagua . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
woodcarver Posted October 15, 2014 How's it coming Mdb? Did you start? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
